DASH-Chapter 144

“Hey, it’s just a joke.”

Jiheon chuckled, but it didn’t seem to be of use.

｢No, really, I’m not an E. That’s almost criminal level.｣

Jaekyoung seemed secretly and genuinely disappointed, so Jiheon urgently tried to comfort him.

“Yeah, I was just kidding. And hey, if a criminal is an E, honestly, you’re not a D but a C. By my standards, only your social skills are C, and the rest are A and B. You’re diligent and always do what you have to do.”

After giving him lots of compliments, like “You’re a son your parents are proud of,” “You’re a talent worthy of gold,” and “You lack nothing as a lover,” Jaekyoung finally agreed in a blunt tone, ｢Ah, that’s enough. I don’t need the first two. I’ll just take the last one.｣

｢Anyway, I like that you’re good at everything. When we were filming ‘Joining the Enemy’, PD-nim said that you’ve been like that since you were a student and you’ve been an all-rounder ever since. I thought what he said was absolutely right.｣

“Really? Inyeop sunbae left such a generous comment about me? Did he do anything wrong to me?”

Jiheon joked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

｢It’s true. I also think the same way whenever I see you, hyung.｣

Jaekyoung said casually.

｢I think it’s amazing how you take control of the situation and persuade others at work, and you always have the answers when I ask you something. If I ask you how to do something, you will tell me right away. That’s really amazing. I keep thinking, you’re only six years older than me, but why are you good at everything? There’s nothing you don’t know. Every time that happens, I’m reminded that you’re so cool, and I really like that about you.｣

Maybe because Jaekyoung spoke more than usual, Jiheon suddenly thought his voice was really good. Aside from the blunt tone, the voice itself was very low, deep, and had a soft resonance.

｢But the time when I feel happier is when you asked me, ‘What should I do with this?’ and asked me for help.｣

Jaekyoung’s voice ten years ago was low and rough. The boy who had just reached adolescence rarely opened his mouth, maybe not wanting to reveal his hoarse, cracked voice. No matter what Jiheon said, he answered briefly with a yes, no, or not really. Even after blurting out whatever as if he was annoyed, he quickly left. That was why Jiheon thought Jaekyoung hated him.

｢So I thought, ‘Ah, there are things that hyung can’t do on his own too. I should help him with that.’ And that makes me really proud and happy. Even during the heat, you could’ve asked me to do something else, and yet you asked me to help you, which made me really happy.｣

But now this guy knew how to say all these deep words in such a soft voice. Even though he couldn’t use refined expressions due to his poor speaking skills, there were times when he felt more sincere because of his rough and rude way of speaking.

“I see.”

Jiheon smiled, holding his cell phone.

“Then, from now on, I’ll just ask you to handle everything. If there’s something I don’t feel like doing or I find bothersome, I’ll just say I can’t do it and leave it to you.”

Despite Jiheon’s playful remark, Jaekyoung quickly replied:

｢Yes, fine by me. I like that. ......But, of course, I can’t guarantee the results.｣

To the belated remark, Jiheon burst into laughter.

“Hey, what are you saying?”

｢Oh, what’s wrong with what I’m saying? Even if I can’t do it, I’ll learn as I go. I need to keep doing it to improve.｣

Jaekyoung shamelessly commented, but then added in a more serious tone.

｢So, I hope you’re not too scared of making mistakes and failing, hyung. You’re not in the middle of a competition right now. You won’t be disqualified immediately if you mess up, so just brush it off and know that it’s okay to make mistakes.｣

“...Yeah.”

Jiheon nodded.

｢And being good at something doesn’t always mean being perfect or the best. So, I hope you don’t stress about it and just do what you can. Nobody’s ranking you, and it’s not like someone will give you a medal if you come in first place.｣

“Yeah.”

Jiheon barely replied. He had wanted to respond for a while, but his voice didn’t come out well because he was choked up. His heart swelled with love, sadness, and even more joy and happiness.

He wanted to convey this overwhelming feeling to Jaekyoung somehow. He wanted Jaekyoung to experience the same happiness he was feeling. And he knew exactly what he had to do for that.

At that moment, a trembling voice escaped his lips without his knowledge.

“Jaekyoung-ah, you know....”

However, when he actually called Jaekyoung, he couldn’t figure out what to say. It wasn’t that he hesitated at the last minute. Rather, at this moment, he was more determined than ever. This feeling had been with him since he first listened to Jaekyoung. He believed there was nothing he couldn’t do as long as Jaekyoung was with him, be it parenthood or anything else.

However, after making up his mind, some concerns made him hesitate even more. He worried that sharing the news too hastily might lead to his disappointment later. Also, he felt reluctant to talk about such an important matter over the phone. Jaekyoung would definitely be happy if he knew the truth, but it was disappointing to think that he couldn’t see it with his own eyes and had to only hear it in his voice.

｢Go ahead, hyung.｣

Jaekyoung, who had been waiting patiently, finally urged him to speak.

Jiheon was taken aback by the gentle push and stammered, “Oh, it’s....” Confused, he quickly said whatever came to mind.

“No, hearing you like this makes me think your voice is really nice.”

｢Oh, why are you saying that out of the blue?｣

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Jaekyoung suddenly clicked his tongue, questioning Jiheon’s comment. Despite his protest, there was an inevitable smile in his voice. Jiheon was happy that Jaekyoung liked it even though he had said it randomly. Moreover, it wasn’t meaningless because he had been thinking about it for a while.

“Really. I’ve been listening to it, and I was surprised that your voice is so nice.”

When Jiheon asked him to talk more on a regular basis, Jaekyoung’s unusually good speaking skills disappeared, and he admitted:

｢I’m not good at speaking.... I’m still like that these days.｣

“That’s right. But you’ve improved a lot compared to before.”

‘You sound like a child learning to speak.’

Jiheon chuckled to himself.

“But do more. You usually give short answers unless we talk like this. If I ask about training, only then will you talk a lot.”

｢Alright.｣

Jiheon wondered why Jaekyoung was so obedient, but Jaekyoung quickly added:

｢But sometimes, I’m a little embarrassed to talk to you.｣

Jiheon nearly laughed out loud at those unexpected words.

“What? Seriously? Even now?”

｢It’s not a matter of when... I’ve always been like that.｣

Jaekyoung’s voice suddenly became brusque, perhaps because he was embarrassed as he spoke.

“But why the hell?”

When asked why he was embarrassed, Jaekyoung thought for a moment and said:

｢I don’t know either. Sometimes, I feel weird when I just talk to you. Even when we’re not really saying anything and just looking at each other, my heart suddenly feels like it’s going to explode and my face turns red.｣

He claimed not to know why he was embarrassed, but when Jiheon heard it, it sounded like an adolescent boy in love for the first time. Jiheon found it absurd. He couldn’t believe this guy was still acting like this even after proudly doing all sorts of things with him. It was unbelievable that this guy’s face turned red, embarrassed to make eye contact even after making a baby with him.

Moreover, Jiheon had nothing to say because he knew it was real and not just mere talk.

“Hey, you really... don’t you think you like me too much?”

Jiheon eventually said with a smile. Those were the only words he could think of.

｢That’s right.｣

Jaekyoung agreed without any hesitation.

｢I really, really like you so much, hyung.｣

Jaekyoung confessed in his usual blunt tone.

｢Even these days, there are times when I still can’t believe it. Especially in the morning before you wake up, when I wake up first and look at you, I often wonder if this is a dream. I used to have dreams about you very often.｣

This guy kept saying things that would make Jiheon feel embarrassed, but Jiheon was genuinely curious about the expression on Jaekyoung’s face when he said he still got embarrassed looking at Jiheon’s face.

Jiheon was deep in thought, contemplating whether or not to bring up the video call one more time. But then—

｢By the way, hyung, are you sure you don’t want to have phone sex?｣

“.......”

Hearing the serious voice that came from the other end of the phone, Jiheon boldly gave up his thoughts on the video call. If they had a video call right now, it was obvious that Kwon Jaekyoung would immediately start yelling, “Hyung, take off your pants and show me your lower half.” At that point, it wasn’t phone sex, it was video sex, but anyway.

‘Just a moment ago, he was talking so shyly that it’s making me so giddy, but why is he suddenly talking about phone sex now?’

The more he thought about it, the more speechless and baffled he became, so he ended up stuttering.

“Hey, you... didn’t you say you’re still embarrassed when you see me? Aren’t you embarrassed to say something like that?”

｢What? Oh, no. Because I can’t see your face right now.｣

‘......It’s not that kind of problem.’

Jiheon swore he’d never once suspected Jaekyoung’s morality or personality, but he often thought Jaekyoung’s sensitivity to universal human feelings was a bit different from others.

But that wasn’t the point now.

“Hey, you didn’t want to do anything here, but then you go overseas and suddenly talk about phone sex.”

Feeling angry belatedly, Jiheon said while holding back his agitation. If that was going to be the case, shouldn’t they have had sex several rounds before he’d left for Malaysia? This guy didn’t even touch him when they were together, but now he was acting like this.

Instead of showing any remorse, Jaekyoung said with a hint that it was unfair.

｢No, that’s because I shouldn’t do that. I was told not to have sex for at least two weeks after the heat ends, so what else can I do about it?｣

“What......?”

Hearing this for the first time, Jiheon unconsciously asked:

“Hey, who said that?”

｢Who? Everyone said so. If you just look up ‘heat warnings’ on the internet, you can find everything. Knotting can cause damage to the inner walls and pose a risk of infection, so after knotting, you must not do anything for 2 to 3 weeks.｣

Jaekyoung’s voice grew louder as he spoke. In the end, he began to scold Jiheon, asking, ｢Why aren’t you paying attention to your own body? Honestly, shouldn’t you know this much even if you didn’t look it up?｣

Sometimes, when Jiheon saw him, it seemed like this guy knew more about these things than he did, so he had nothing to refute.

Moreover, if Jiheon remembered correctly, Kwon Jaekyoung originally didn’t know much about this stuff either. Jaekyoung didn’t even care, thinking, ‘I’ve never had to go through that, so what’s the point of knowing about that?’ But then, when he heard that Jiheon might be in heat, he got worried on his own and started researching all sorts of things. It was clear that he gained all kinds of knowledge about heat through that.

Of course, Jiheon had also gone through the same process and became well-versed in the aftereffects of heat for Alphas. But even if he brought it up here, it was unlikely Jaekyoung would be impressed, and there was a good chance his pride would be hurt, asking, “What the hell do you think of me, hyung?” Especially if he mentioned erectile dysfunction, he might get caught up in Jaekyoung’s anger, who wanted to show off his robustness, and be forced into video sex.

“No, hey, all you have to do is not put it inside.”

Jiheon, on the defensive, hurriedly changed his stance.

“They’re just telling you not to do penetration for two weeks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have sex. Why are you deciding to become like a monk—”

｢How do you have sex without penetration?｣

Jaekyoung cut off Jiheon’s words. Jiheon’s thoughts paused for a moment, but he quickly came to his senses and said in a calm voice:

“Jaekyoung-ah, don’t be surprised. You can actually have sex without penetration.”

｢Oh, I know that.｣

Jaekyoung got angry and asked what he was talking about.

“I see...... Thank god.”

The moment Jiheon felt sincere relief—

｢I know it’s possible in theory. But I can’t do that.｣

Those words were even scarier in some ways.

“Hey, what do you mean you can’t do that? You can if you try.”

｢No, I can’t.｣

Jaekyoung confidently insisted.

｢I thought I could do that, but I couldn’t. I knew for sure ever since I was in heat. It’s something I can’t do anything about on my own.｣

At this point, it wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, it just seemed like he didn’t have the heart to do it, but Jiheon decided not to point it out. That guy knew best anyway, so why bother talking about it? So he just didn’t respond, but then Jaekyoung suddenly got angry and said:

｢But it’s because of you that I became like this, hyung.｣

“What...? Why me?”

Jiheon asked, genuinely flabbergasted. When he asked why that guy blamed Jiheon for being weak-willed, Jaekyoung said, ｢Why? Because you’re so erotic, hyung,｣ as if it was something absurd.

｢And hyung, even if I try to finish it off by rubbing it on your thighs, you keep encouraging me to put it in.｣

“Hey, that’s because you’re just rubbing and not cumming. How long would I have to endure it? My skin was all chafed and it was painful.”

When he said that, Jaekyoung didn’t even listen and got upset.

｢Anyway, I was trying my best to hold back, but you kept looking at me like you were trying to seduce me. I told you not to look at me like that, but then you said, ‘You’re mine anyway. Am I not allowed to look at what’s mine?’｣

“But that’s the truth. You are mine. Am I not allowed to look at what’s mine?”

When Jiheon spoke in a teasing way, Jaekyoung got even angrier.

｢Look at this. I’m going crazy because you’re like this.｣

He expressed his frustration, saying it was because of Jiheon that he came all the way to Malaysia when he shouldn’t have, and it was even funnier because Jiheon could feel his genuine annoyance.

“Okay. From now on, I definitely won’t say that.”

Jiheon made a serious face. When he assured this guy not to worry because he wouldn’t do that no matter how much he insisted, Jaekyoung suddenly closed his mouth. After a while, a quieter voice came from the other end of the receiver.

｢You don’t have to, you know? I mean, you really don’t have to.｣

Jaekyoung said urgently.

｢Anyway, your wounds would have already healed by the time I returned to Korea, so why should you do that? There’s no need to do that on purpose. That’s okay. You don’t have to.｣

The words that started with “You don’t have to, you know?” ended up as a plea, and Jiheon said as he picked up the mug on the table.

“Yeah, I’m not doing it because of the wound either.”

It had healed a long time ago, but now, when Jaekyoung asked what kind of wound he was talking about, he immediately asked, “Then why?” and showed his displeasure.

‘You ask why? It’s dangerous during pregnancy.’

Jiheon swallowed the words lingering in his mouth with the lukewarm water. After finally drinking all the water, he put down ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) the empty mug and spoke in a relaxed voice.

“Well, come here and let’s talk about it.”